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Letter to the editor

Fed's Florida take: Lake is drying up, as are other areas

The bad news trumps the good in an economic roundup for the state.

By BECKY BOWERS, Times Staff Writer
Published September 6, 2007

Summer in Florida brought a pricey drought and melting retail sales, the Federal Reserve's Beige Book survey showed Wednesday.

The report, an economic roundup based on anecdotal evidence gathered by the Fed, offers these regional highlights for mid July and August:

AGRICULTURE: Lake Okee-chobee's water readings have dropped 3 to 4 feet below normal. Drought could cost Florida and Georgia farmers more than $2-billion with significant damage to crops and pastures.

CONSUMER SPENDING: Early August sales tax holidays appeared to boost back-to-school sales, but Florida retail sales were the weakest in the region. Auto loan delinquencies grew, financing costs increased for subprime buyers and fewer people financed vehicles using home-equity lines of credit.

REAL ESTATE: Home sales were below year-ago levels, with a sharp drop in new home sales in July, compared with a year ago. Commercial construction projects fell in Florida, with fewer projects in the pipeline; elsewhere they were flat to slightly up.

TOURISM: Orlando reported strong hotel bookings, and South Florida saw more activity than a year ago.

BANKING AND FINANCE: Consumer and loan delinquencies increased. Several banks tightened subprime lending standards while mortgage brokers shed thousands of jobs. Some banks cited rising problems with commercial accounts.

EMPLOYMENT: Positions in health care, education, accounting and IT were hard to fill, while industries tied to residential construction reported more layoffs.

[Last modified September 5, 2007, 22:49:01]